Holly Smith and Jessica Kohout

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• Holly Smith and Jessica Kohout

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Quick Facts on Brazil

• Location Eastern South America bordering the
  Atlantic Ocean
• Population 182,032,604 (July 2003 est.)
• Population Growth Rate 1.15 (2003 est.)
• Population Below Poverty Line 22 (1998 est.)
• Land Use Arable Land-6.3
• Permanent Crops-1.42
• Other-98.28
• Brazil has nearly 70 of its remaining frontier
  or original forests, but its estimated that 40
  are endangered by human activities.
• Agriculture Products coffee, soybeans, wheat,
  rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus, and beef.

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Coffee Plantation
Citrus Industry
Sugarcane Harvest
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Amazon Rainforest

• Amazonian Rainforest totals 3.5 million sq. km in
  Brazilian territory or at least ½ of Brazils
  territory
• Amazonia is the largest tropical rainforest in
  the world
• Extraordinary biodiversity
• Evolution of species
• Maintains climate by regulating atmospheric gases
• Stabilizes rainfall
• Protects against desertification

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• In the 1980s, dramatic photos of the Amazon
  forest on fire evoked an international outcry
  against destruction
• 1989, Brazils government was given authority to
  enforce laws to protect these habitats
• In the early 1990s, deforestation declined
  slightly
• Nearly 19,000 sq. miles of forest were cleared
  from 1994-96 deforestation reached a record
  proportion in 1995
• The government delayed releasing deforestation
  statistics for 1995-1997 until late January 1998
• In early 1998, a report from the Brazilian
  government showed record-high destruction to
  these forests had taken place

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• Currently, efforts are being made by
  international organizations and organizations
  within the government to preserve this biome.
• Today, 12-15 of Brazils forest are gone, and
  each year roughly another 19,800 square
  kilometers
• The rainforest is shrinking at a rate of 6,000
  square miles a year, or roughly the size of
  Connecticut

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Amazon Rainforest
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Freshwater Turtle
Jaguar
Home to at least 8 different primate species
Numerous plant species
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Causes of Destruction

• Overpopulation
• -Poverty
• -Cattle Ranching
• -Logging
• -Fuelwood
• -Fires
• -Road Construction
• -Habitat Fragmentation
• -Mining
• -Soybean Production

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Overpopulation

• In 2003, Brazils annual birth rate is about 18
  birth per 1,000 population growth rate is at
  1.15
• Promoting Growth (slide)
• Use of Contraceptives (slide)
• Overpopulation leads to poverty and the
  rainforest is a means of money for everyone
• -farmers of Brazil and of America
• -Brazil is second biggest soybean
  producer behind U.S.
• -beef to Europeans and Middle East
  because of mad-cow disease
• -U.S. benefits-main importer and
  exporter of Brazils products
• -loggers
• -pharmaceutical companies
• -eco-tourism companies

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Promoting Growth

• The Brazilian military officers encouraged
  population growth so that Brazil could surpass
  the U.S. in size and become the dominant nation
  in the W. hemisphere
• They did not effectively promote population
  growth, they became basically neutral on the
  issue of population and gradually made it
  possible for the main non-government family
  planning organization to operate
• After the military left power in the mid 1980s, a
  new constitution acknowledged the right of women
  to family planning

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Use of Contraceptives

• After the constitution, 75 of women began to use
  contraceptives
• From 1960-1994, the average number of children
  born to a Brazilian woman dropped from about 6 to
  about 3
• The right to an abortion is limited by law but is
  widely used
• One estimate is that 30 of all pregnancies in
  Brazil are terminated by abortion

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Poverty

• Despite economic growth, poverty and hunger
  continue to expand
• As it becomes more integrated into the world
  economy, there will be higher demands on Brazils
  natural resources, causing pollution and
  environmental degradation to increase at a rate
  exceeding the population growth rate
• The poor/peasants are frequently pushed off more
  fertile land by wealthy landowners who have more
  political clout
• These actions can lead to deforestation, which
  can cause disease, soil erosion, ruining water,
  and leaving their children without the benefits
  possible when the forest is sustainably used

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Cattle Ranching

• The majority of the commercial destruction done
  from the 1960s to early 1990s was due to cattle
  ranchers and land speculators who burned the
  rainforests to plant African grasses for pasture
• During the 1970s and early 1980s, this was done
  to meet the American demand for cheap beef
• In Brazil, by simply clearing forest and placing
  a few cattle on the property, one is given the
  title to that piece of land

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• Brazils commercial cattle herd is the largest in
  the world
• Brazils cattle usually do not eat manufactured
  feed or synthetic supplements
• This makes Brazilian beef attractive in Europe
  and the Middle East because of mad cow disease
• Exports of Brazilian beef fresh and processed
  grew 30 in 2001 to 1 billion

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Why Cattle?

• Cattle is chosen because of their low maintenance
  costs and prove to be highly liquid assets easily
  brought to market
• They are a low risk investment relative to cash
  crops which are subject to wild price swings and
  pest infestations
• Are being raised to supply the fast food market
  in the United States
• This does not provide land to the landless or
  help to solve the food problems in exporting
  countries

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Cattle of Brazil
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Logging

• One of the best known causes for rainforest
  destruction
• Logging firms are stepping up their practices in
  Brazilian Amazon
• Selective Logging and its damages
• -brings down dozens of tree
• -tractors tear up soil and ground
  vegetation
• -exposes soils to intense sunlight
• -destroys the symbiotic ground organisms
• -increases erosion, clouding up creeks
  streams
• The United States is the main importer of
  Brazilian mahogany

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Logging in Brazil
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-In 1995, 1.3 sq. miles of rainforest were being
cleared due to the increase of presence of
loggers, new agricultural projects, and increases
in burning by settlers and plantation owners.
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Fuelwood

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
  Nations (FAO) estimates that 40 of the world
  (2.3 billion people) rely on fuelwood or charcoal
  as their primary source of energy for cooking and
  heating.
• The collection of fuelwood and building material
  from the rainforest remains an important cause of
  deforestation by settlers.

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Fires

• Are frequent because the intentional ignition and
  accidental spread of fire
• The burning season-thousands of fires are set by
  land speculators, ranchers, plantation owners,
  and peasants
• Kills wildlife
• Releases thousands of tons of carbon into the
  atmosphere
• Significant sources of greenhouse gases
• For every acre burned/cleared that shows up on
  satellite, at least 1 acre burns undetected under
  the forest canopy

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Road Construction

• The construction of roads to access logging, oil,
  and mining sites in the rainforests opens vast
  stretches of forest to exploitation by landless
  peasants
• Allows masses of colonists to penetrate virgin
  rainforests to exploit fuelwood, game, building
  material, and temporary agricultural lands
• Numerous government and development agencies have
  funded roads and highways that cross forest
  areas.
• The Trans-Amazonian Highway

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The Trans-Amazonian Highway

• One of the most ambitious resettlement-economic
  development programs ever devised, but also one
  of the greatest failures
• In the 1970s, Brazil planned a 2000-mile highway
  that would bisect the massive Amazon forest,
  opening rainforest lands to settlement by
  peasants to maintain the countrys impressive
  economic growth
• Colonists given a 250-acre lot, 6 months salary,
  and easy access to agricultural loans, in
  exchange for settling along the highway and
  converting land into agricultural land.

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-The plan grew to cost Brazil US 65,000 (1980
dollars) to settle each family during this
time, Brazil was still a developing
country -The sediments of the Amazon Basin made
the highway unstable and subject to inundation
during heavy rains, which blocked traffic and
caused crops to rot -Brazilian deforestation
then accelerated to levels never before seen to
make way for subsistence farmers and
cattle-ranchers
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Trans-Amazonian Highway
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Mining

• Gold mining
• In 1980s, over 100,000 prospectors invaded the
  state of Para when a large gold deposit was
  discovered
• Roads promoted invasion of prospectors and
  disturbed the land
• Miners have also brought diseases like Malaria

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Soybean Production

• Began to play a big role in rainforest
  destruction
• Largest exporter of soy products after the United
  States
• Pressure to continue pursuing this economic
  development

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Effects of Deforestation

• Species Extinction
• Habitat fragmentation
• Erosion
• Climate changes
• Flooding
• Release of CO2
• Threats to Indigenous people

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Species Extinction

• Total of species 394 (1994)
• of endemic species-96 (1994)
• of threatened species-199671 (18 of total
  species) in 200079 (20 of total species)
• At least 8 species considered Critically
  Endangered in Brazil
• To see a full list visit http//www.animalinfo.or
  g/country/brazil.htm

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Habitat Fragmentation

• Serious threat to biodiversity
• As great expanses of forest are increasingly
  chopped into smaller blocks, edges effects alter
  the flora and fauna of forests
• Subjected to drying winds that increase the
  frequency of tree falls
• This causes tears in the canopy, which destroys
  its function of moderating the humidity,
  temperature, and heat conditions of the forest
  floor
• Rare species that are unable to handle the change
  are replaced by more common species, reducing
  biodiversity

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Erosion

• Can cause soil to harden and make supply of fresh
  water erratic
• Cutting of trees puts strain on soil, and once
  the soil is washed away, it is not easily
  recreated because trees protect soil from violent
  rains

Originally covered with forest
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Changes in Climate and Flooding

• Deforestation usually means less rainfall
• If the soil dries out, which happens when the
  forest cover is removed because the soil
  containing laterite it then becomes too hard
• Flooding can lead to too much H2O in the wrong
  place
• The trees and their roots prevent this from
  happening

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Release of Carbon Dioxide

• One hectare of tropical rainforest can absorb 200
  tons of CO2 annually
• Scientists say the Amazon alone can absorb over
  one billion tons of CO2 each year
• Sections of the forest that have been logged,
  burned, or fragmented loses CO2 to the atmosphere
• Soils absorb much more CO2 than trees themselves
• Forests in temperate zones absorb far less CO2
  than the tropical rainforest

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Threats to Indigenous Peoples

• Local natives Yanomani
• Have been hit hard by diseases brought from
  colonists and outbreaks of violence with the
  miners
• Malaria
• -has affected 80 of the Yanomani
• -has killed over 20 of the population

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• At least 28 of the Indian population lacks a
  sufficient diet
• The Yanomani population has fallen from an
  estimated 20,000 twenty years ago to less than
  9,000 today
• There are several verified accounts of the
  killings of at least 94 Yanomani by miners within
  last 10 years
• The government formerly protected indigenous
  peoples by providing demarcation of their lands
  by 1993 in the 1988 Constitution

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• According to the constitution, Brazils 330,000
  Indians have land rights to 11 of the country
• However, the process has been slow and less than
  40 of the lands have been demarcated
• In January 1996, President Cardoso signed Decree
  1775 into law which allows commercial interests
  to protest indigenous land titles
• Loggers seeking mahogany have moved on indigenous
  lands and allegedly had deadly conflicts with
  those who have interfered with operation

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• Indigenous people have also been victims of
  slavery
• -Brazil was the last country in the
  Americas to abolish slavery
• -However, contemporary forms of slavery,
  in which workers are held in unpaid, coerced
  labor continues to flourish
• -A national survey in 2000 estimated that
  there were more than 25,000 forced workers a
  decade ago, there were less than 5,000
• -Caused by growing pressure to exploit
  timber and beef
• -slavery is directly related to deforestation

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Role of Brazilian Government

• Role of military in the 1970s and 1980s
• Past actions of the government
• IBAMA
• Ministry of the Environment
• The new President

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Some Facts of the Brazilian Government

• Between 1995-1998, the government granted land in
  the Amazon to roughly 150,000 families
• 48 of forest loss in 1995 was in areas under 125
  acres in size, suggesting that both loggers and
  peasants are significant contributors to
  deforestation
• In 1997, Brazil created the worlds largest block
  of protected rainforest reserve, the Amana
  Sustainable Development Reserve, covering 22,000
  sq. miles
• In December 1997, the government pledged to
  protect 10 of its tropical rainforests by the
  year 2000

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• The government created 7 national forests for
  sustainable logging in an effort to reduce
  illegal tree felling and slow deforestation
• Government approved the creation of the first
  sustainable logging project in indigenous lands
• Government is not overly eager to end many of
  these destructive practices because it needs a
  means to service the interest payments on its US
  94 billion external debt
• Is caught between international pressure to
  reduce deforestation and a powerful domestic
  lobby from large landowners, the logging
  industry, and agricultural farms
• In July 1996, the government announced a series
  of measures including a moratorium on new
  concessions to cut virola and mahogany, and a law
  forbidding Amazon landowners from cutting more
  than 20 of the forests on their land

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• In July 1998, they extended and strengthened the
  moratorium on new permits for logging of mahogany
  and virola
• Following their release of deforestation
  statistics for 1995-1997, the Brazilian Congress
  finally passed an environmental crimes bill
  seven years after it was submitted
• Fines could be up to 50 million and granted
  IBAMA the right to levy fines and prosecute
  offenders
• In March 1998, the government announced it was
  taking steps to slow invasion of virgin forests
  by landless peasants by changing its land reform
  policy
• In August 1999, Brazil announced a new joint
  operation between IBAMA and the military to
  monitor and crack down on illegal logging and
  fires
• Some 360 inspectors were added to the patrol

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IBAMA

• Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable
  Resources
• Created in 1989, this is Brazils government
  environment protection agency that played a
  leading role in deterring deforestation
• They are under-funded
• Has canceled more than 70 of the existing
  logging permits, but illegal logging is rampant
• They estimate that 80 of all logging in the
  Amazon is illegal, but the agency only collects
  6.5 of its fines it imposes

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• Only 80 IBAMA enforcement agents patrol the whole
  Amazon
• Recently, courts have ruled that IBAMA does not
  even have any legal authority to enforce the law

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Ministry of Environment

• the Ministry of Environment,the Water Resources
  and the Amazon is responsible for the forestry
  sector
• It supervises IBAMA, chairs the National Council
  on the Environment (CONAMA) and takes part in the
  Presidents Chamber for Natural Resources
  Policies, which coordinates the various aspects
  related to forests and other issues

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President Lula

• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected to bring
  about a social revolution
• Pledged to double federal spending on research
  within his 4-year term, and to boost the number
  of young researchers being trained
• Challenge will be turning investment in basic
  science into innovations that benefit local
  communities and the economy

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Economic Benefits

• Advocating Preservation
• -insects
• -pharmaceutical companies (Merck and
  Company)
• Advocating Deforestation
• -tax breaks
• -government makes profit for debt payments

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Solutions

• Improving Harvesting Systems
• -Shifting cultivation
• -Some other ideas
• Pharmaceuticals and Marketing Resources
• Eco-tourism
• Alliances
• Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)
• Satellite-based deforestation monitoring

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Shifting Cultivation

• Regeneration of forest is possible IF only small
  plots of land are cleared
• Clearing and farming land for only a year or two
  before moving on to other land
• Must remain on a small scale!

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Some Other Ideas

• Cable Systems- Mostly used in industrialized
  countries, this method is gaining popularity in
  developing countries where it could significantly
  lower damage inflicted upon the forest
• Animal Harvesting-Although some activists will
  object, using animals to harvest timber is far
  less damaging to the environment than using
  tractors to extract trees and they provide
  natural nutrient supplements to the areas where
  they work

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• Balloon Systems-Although still experimental,
  balloon harvesting has potential for removing
  highly desirable species that keep most of the
  surrounding forest intact. However, this is not
  practical at this point or most forms of tree
  harvesting
• Helicopter Logging-Whereby logs are extracted by
  helicopter and flown to a drop zone. Requires
  more capital and training.

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Pharmaceuticals and Marketing Resources

• Many species of plants known only to the
  rainforest are useful in combating such diseases
  such as cancers, AIDS, and other illnesses
• Plants can also be used to make Western
  products like cosmetics

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Eco-tourism

• A way for developing countries to bring in
  foreign revenue by preserving their rainforests
• Money spent directly in the local economy helps
  give economic value to forest preservation
• Can provide local people with economic assistance
  by offering them employment opportunities as
  wildlife guides, rangers, and workers in hotels
  and lodges

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Alliances

• The International Tropical Timber Organization
  (ITTO) is a commodity organization which includes
  countries that produce and consume tropical
  timber it provides a forum to discuss and
  exchange information and develop policies on the
  world tropical timber economy
• Endangered Species
• Ozone Layer Protection
• Biodiversity

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Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)

• NGOs are the driving force behind conservation
  efforts today
• These non-profit groups fund and support all
  aspects of conservation from research to
  protected area initiatives to implementation
  through park management and community-based
  conservation schemes to alliance building between
  government agencies and private interests
• Support grassroots movements, promote
  communication between all parties, and sponsor
  education initiatives

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• Central American Tropical Agriculture Research
  Institute (CATIE) operates on the premise of
  educating local peasants about sustainable use of
  rainforests they conserve by showing the
  residents the economic benefits of leaving the
  ecosystem intact
• FUNDECOR (Foundation for the Development of the
  Central Volcanic Mountain Chain) has contracts
  with more than 90 landowners to sustainably
  manage 30,000 acres of forest
• World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), along with the
  World Bank and the Global Environmental Facility
  (GEF), and the government of Brazil initiated the
  Amazon Region Protected Area (ARPA), which
  creates a system of approximately 80 reserves and
  parks, preserving intact an area roughly the size
  of California

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Satellite Monitoring

• System for the Vigilance of the Amazon (SIRAM)
  became operation last summer aims to promote
  sustainable development by providing real-time
  monitoring deforestation, pollution, and the
  spread of disease by combining data from
  satellites with sensors on aircraft and the
  ground
• Matto Grosso State

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How We Can Help

• Education
• Give donations to programs that prevent
  rainforest destruction
• Combat against paper parks
• Write to the government

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Bibliography

• Rohter, Larry. Amazon Forest Still Burning,
  Despite Pledges. New York Times. 23 Aug. 2002,
  final ed. A1.
• Rohter, Larry. Brazils Prized Exports Rely on
  Slaves, and Scorched Land. New York Times. 25
  Mar. 2002, final ed. A1.
• Rohter, Larry. Bill in Brazil Would Allow More
  of Jungle to be Grazed. New York Times. 23
  Sept. 2002, final ed. A4.
• Seitz, John. Global Issues An Introduction . 2nd
  ed. , Massachusetts Blackwell Publishers, 2002.
• Adam, David. Under New Management. Nature 22
  May 2003. 1 Oct. 2003. lthttp//www.nature.com/na
  ture/journal/r423/n6938/full/4233799_fs.htm/conte
  nt_filtypePDF.gt

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• Saving What Remains. www.mongabay.com 5 Oct.
  2003 lthttp//www.mongabay.com/1022.htm.gt
• Countries Appendix. www.mongabay.com 7 Oct.
  2003 lthttp//www.mongabay.com/20Brazil.htm.gt
• Imperiled Riches. www.mongabay.com 1 Oct. 2003
  lthttp//www.mongabay.com/0801.htm.gt
• CIA. The World Factbook Brazil. 16 Nov. 2003
  lthttp//www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos
  /br.htm.gt